"I'm devastated. You just think something like this is never going to happen to any of your family members," Green's brother, Leslie Green, told ABC-7.

Leslie said Frederick was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor in June and was headed to Phoenix for surgery.

Frederick had just turned 59 years old and leaves behind a son.

His brother Leslie is still trying to absorb the new reality.

"I can't change what happened. It happened, I just got to move on," he said.

As for what happened, an NTSB investigator is Las Cruces for the next two days.

"We'll be very carefully documenting all the status of the airplane. The flight controls, the engines, the propellers. I'll be interviewing witnesses that saw the airplane crash," said Tom Latson, an investigator with the NTSB.

The federal agency expects to have a preliminary report on the crash in a week, and a full report completed in six months to a year.

The NTSB told ABC-7, crews will be removing the plane debris Friday.

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ORIGINAL STORY (WEDNESDAY):

New Mexico State Police say a twin-engine prop plane crashed west of the Southern New Mexico Fairgrounds Wednesday night.

ABC-7 confirmed the plane was carrying a medical crew and a cancer patient flying from El Paso to Phoenix.

Lt. James Frietze with New Mexico State Police said the plane belonged to Elite Medical Transport.

All four people on board were killed when the plane crashed Wednesday near the Southern New Mexico Fairgrounds. Frietze also confirmed the names of the victims. They are:

Frederick Green, 59, patient, of Las Cruces

Taurean Summers, 28, paramedic, of El Paso

Monica Chavez, 35, nurse, of El Paso

Freddy Martinez, 29, pilot, of El Paso

A witness told ABC-7 that he saw a red and white plane with its landing gear down and then saw the plane hit the ground. The witness saw a plume of smoke and then a fireball and explosion.

State police and emergency crews are on the scene. Officials say it was bound for Phoenix.

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